Chapter 63: A Neighborhood Without Zombies

The big tiger glanced at Chu Jiangyue but didn’t show any displeasure at her actions.

“Roar~”

[It said it understands.]

The little fox very consciously acted as the translator.

But with just an “understood,” it was unclear whether that meant they would go or not.

“Looking forward to meeting again!”

After Chu Jiangyue spoke, the two big tigers took the little ones and bounded away.

“Boss Chu, you can understand what they’re saying?”

Seeing how Chu Jiangyue communicated smoothly with the two tigers, Xie Silin felt it was unbelievable.

“I can’t understand them, maybe it’s just… a connection of hearts.”

She really couldn’t understand, but she had her translator.

“Hehe…”

Xie Silin returned a polite yet awkward smile.

“Let’s keep going. If we can’t reach another safe passage by noon, we’ll need to find a place to eat.”

Shen Zhigui reminded them.

Although they were wearing temperature-regulated suits, the food they carried could easily spoil or rot in the heat.

So if they could eat indoors, it was always better than outdoors—at least the temperature would be a few degrees lower.

This time, Jiang He drove a little faster to find a house to use.

The road they were on was surrounded only by yellow sand—nothing else in sight.

Twenty minutes passed.

“There’s a residential compound ahead. Should we check it out?”

If it was an uncleared compound, it would definitely be crawling with zombies.

Jiang He wasn’t sure if the six of them could handle that many.

[Host, there aren’t any zombies in the compound, but there is one mutated plant.]

The little fox knew Chu Jiangyue’s group wanted a place to rest, so it eagerly scouted ahead.

The compound Jiang He saw was exactly where the fox had gone.

[Nothing else, just one mutated plant?]

If that was the case, then that plant must be quite capable.

“There are also some survivors.”

With the mutated plant dealing with zombies, the people inside were living fairly well.

But now that some time had passed since the apocalypse began, their supplies had almost run out, and they were starting to worry about resources.

“Let’s take a look. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just go back to the car.”

Knowing the situation, Chu Jiangyue still decided to go check.

Since the plant hadn’t harmed the survivors, it was probably friendly.

As long as they didn’t show hostility, it should be fine.

But Chu Jiangyue alone couldn’t decide this; it depended on what the others thought.

Su Zhucheng and the rest looked toward Shen Zhigui.

“Let’s go take a look. Until we’re sure it’s safe, stay alert.”

With Shen Zhigui’s words, the others had no objections, and Jiang He drove toward the compound.

At the gate, many zombie corpses were scattered around—likely the mutated plant’s handiwork.

When they arrived at the entrance, someone stopped them.

“Wait! Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Seeing strangers, the gatekeeper raised his voice with a firm tone.

“We’re just passing through and wanted a place to rest.”

Jiang He casually pulled a pack of instant noodles from his space and handed it over.

It was from their earlier supply gathering, but since Jianglin Hotel had real meals, these had been left unused.

Now they came in handy.

The gatekeeper’s eyes lit up at the sight of the noodles.

“There are still vacant apartments inside, but you can only stay around the outer areas. You must not go deeper.”

He quickly snatched the instant noodles from Jiang He’s hand.

Instant noodles—once dismissed as junk food before the apocalypse—were now precious.

“Of course. We understand the rules.”

The gatekeeper stepped out of the guardhouse and lowered the earth wall blocking the entrance.

Ah, so he was an earth-ability user.

Jiang He drove in and parked by a building that looked decent enough.

Once the group confirmed their choice of building and showed no hostile intent, the young man wrapped his feet in earth and ran deeper into the compound.

With outsiders arriving, maybe they could trade for some supplies.

Judging from the spotless car, the newcomers must have plenty of resources.

Chu Jiangyue noticed but ignored him, and so did Shen Zhigui’s group.

They entered an apartment, tidied up the dusty living room a bit, and sat together at the dining table.

Jiang He laid out prepared meals from his space.

Chu Jiangyue also took out two dishes and a bowl of rice she had purchased from her system’s store.

“Let’s eat together.”

She had braised pork and tomato scrambled eggs.

They didn’t overlap with what Shen Zhigui’s group had brought out.

“Boss Chu, you’re too generous! Then I won’t hold back!”

Lin Xuyuan immediately grabbed a piece of braised pork.

Shen Zhigui said nothing, only silently reminding himself they should return the favor someday.

Just as they began eating, footsteps sounded in the hallway outside.

Chu Jiangyue frowned slightly. Even if the locals wanted to greet them, this wasn’t the right time.

At noon, instead of eating, they came here?

“Put it away. Let’s see what they want.”

Shen Zhigui set his chopsticks down and told Jiang He to clear the table.

“No need. If they want some, I can sell it to them.

But… the price won’t be hotel prices anymore.”

And without ID cards, they would have to pay in crystal cores.

Shen Zhigui gave her a look. Once he confirmed she wasn’t joking, he nodded.

“I’ll open the door.”

Knowing his place, Xie Silin set down his chopsticks and went to answer.

Sure enough, as soon as the door opened, the group searching for them plastered on smiles.

“So the guests are here! We don’t have much to offer, just wanted to drop by and greet you.”

As he spoke, his eyes kept darting inside.

The smell of food was unmistakable.

“No need for such courtesy. We’re just passing through.”

Though Boss Chu had said she could sell food to them, Xie Silin had no intention of inviting them in.

It was the apocalypse—these people might take advantage.

“Not inviting us in to sit?”

The old, skinny man leading them smiled at Xie Silin.

“Xiao Xie, bring the guests in.”

Su Zhucheng raised his voice from inside, signaling for them to let the group in.

Hearing that, the old man’s wrinkled face broke into an even wider grin.

Since someone inside had invited them, Xie Silin had no choice but to step aside.

The old man strutted in with his people, unceremoniously bypassing Xie Silin.

Once inside, their eyes brightened at the sight of the food on the table.

Clearly, today’s visitors had plenty of supplies.

“You’re eating so well. These dishes are rare treasures nowadays.”

“It’s okay. On the road, it’s good to eat well.”